The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments. By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

As part of the Global Portfolio Office, UNOPS Geneva provides comprehensive solutions in secretariat hosting, operational support, and fund management. We manage global programmes, including the Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) Portfolio, offering project management, procurement, HR, and financial services. Geneva hosts the secretariats of eight global partnerships focused on health (RBM, Stop TB, ATscale), nutrition (SUN), water/sanitation (SHF), humanitarian leadership (GELI), urban development (Cities Alliance), and disaster displacement (PDD). We also provide fund management for EIF and UN Water, and operational support to Geneva-based partners like the Global Fund and UNHCR. The EU-UNOPS Lives in Dignity (LiD) Grant Facility is also based here.

Cities Alliance, which is hosted by UNOPS, is a global partnership promoting the role of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Managed by a Secretariat based in Brussels, it is a unique partnership with a diverse membership which has come together to strengthen both impacts and coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is a global leader with a strong track record in grant-making, which supports strategic city planning, slum upgrading strategies and national policies designed to make cities more inclusive and sustainable. Through UNOPS, the Cities Alliance operates a Multi-Donor Fund supported by an efficient, flexible grant-making mechanism with global reach.

The Senior Urban Specialist leads the Cities Alliance Informality Task Force, driving global collaboration, policy dialogue, and strategic initiatives to address urban informality, slum transformation, and adequate housing. The role provides technical and strategic leadership to develop partnerships, influence global and regional urban agendas, design innovative programmes, and strengthen coordination among governments, development partners, civil society, and other stakeholders to advance inclusive, sustainable, and resilient urban development.

Under the direct supervision of the Cities Alliance Director, the Senior Urban Specialist will lead the work of the Informality Task Force (ITF), an inter-institutional platform for continuous dialogue that regularly reunites more than 30 organisations dedicated to addressing the needs of inhabitants of slums and informal settlements worldwide. It aims to unlock synergies for broader impact on slums and increase political commitment and support for slum transformation efforts globally. The Senior Urban Specialist will provide expertise and support and contribute to the development or implementation of member-driven global, regional, national, and local activities that align with the Informality Task Force’s objectives, such as UN-Habitat’s Adequate Housing Working Group.

The functional responsibilities of the incumbent include the following tasks:

Strategic Planning

• Assumes overall responsibility for the development and implementation of assigned activities of the Secretariat related to the Informality Task Force, mainstreaming collaboration and collective thinking on key issues of informality.

• Leads strategic planning with key partners on contributions of the Informality Task Force and its related components such as the IBSA Working Group, in support of the implementation of global policy frameworks, to orient collective processes of members and ensure their effectiveness in contributing to common objectives.

• Provides substantial input to Cities Alliance’s programmatic work on inclusive and sustainable urban development, establishing links between key aspects of informality and central topics in global agendas and in Cities Alliance's engagement, e.g. related to urban poverty and climate resilience.

• Shares best practices and lessons learned for corporate knowledge building and development planning, fostering synergies between the network and country operations.

Project and Programme development and planning

• Analyses local urban challenges, ongoing initiatives, and opportunities for engagement to provide strategic orientation in identifying pilot locations for joint projects of Informality Task Force’s members.

• Manages and coordinates the contributions of Informality Task Force’s members and external stakeholders in the development of joint initiatives, fostering integrated approaches that embed slum transformation initiatives in global agendas, e.g. programmatic activities promoting human development and climate resilience.

• Identifies funding opportunities and oversees the preparation of funding proposals, donor briefings and presentations in support of the Informality Task Force’s goals and more broadly Cities Alliance’s mission and vision.

• Provides advanced analytical and sector-specific technical inputs (remotely or through in-country missions) in the design and implementation of Cities Alliance programmes and operations, leads in the development of new programmes and projects on urban informality in line with the priorities of the post-Habitat III global agenda.

Advocacy and communication

• Engages with a variety of stakeholders in joint advocacy and outreach efforts to highlight the role of informality in cities and the importance of pro-poor urban development for the achievement of international development goals.

• Leads drafting of knowledge products, communication, advocacy products, background documents, keynotes, and presentations to be delivered by Cities Alliance Secretariat, members, and partners.

• Coordinates the engagement of key stakeholders at ministerial level to support strategic initiatives that will influence urban policy and governance across multiple members and governments.

• Represent the secretariat and the Cities Alliance at conferences, panels, and meetings, as requested.

Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships

• Engages in preparation, facilitation, and results processing of regular meetings and sporadic events with a broad variety of stakeholders from different institutional backgrounds.

• Advise the secretariat on the overall development of a global network of member and partner institutions on Informality, acting as focal point for interested external stakeholders and facilitating outreach to potential partners and inter-institutional cooperation.

• Geographically assumes responsibility to be the focal point for the Latin-American region and other regions and sub-regions as needed.

Required:

• An advanced University Degree (Master’s degree of equivalent) preferably in Urban Planning, Urban Studies, International Development Studies, or similar disciplines is required.

• A first level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in any of the above disciplines combined with two additional years of relevant experience may be acceptable in lieu of the advanced degree.

Desired:

• A PhD in the above mentioned disciplines is an asset.

Required:

• Minimum of 7 (seven) years of progressively responsible professional experience in managing multi-stakeholder processes targeting inclusive urban development is required.

• Experience in liaising with civil society groups and local and national governments in developing countries in the participatory design and/or implementation of projects in informal settlements is required.

• Knowledge of global stakeholder processes targeting the transformation of slums and informal settlements and provision of adequate housing is required.

Desired:

• Strategic partnership building skills and experience of working with actors from different institutional cultures and organisations across sectors is an asset.

• Proven experience in drafting project and programme proposals for international donor agencies (including development of theory of change, log frame, budget elaboration) is desirable.

• A proven track record of analytical, research and policy work on the relevant topic(s) and demonstrated analytical skills documented through papers, articles, and publications is desirable.

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